The Explosive Little Richard

The Explosive Little Richard
Studio album by Little Richard
Released	January 1967
Recorded	5 February 1966 - 15 September 1966
Studio	Columbia Studios, Hollywood, California
Genre	Rock and roll, soul
Length	29:49
Label	Okeh
Producer	Larry Williams
Little Richard chronology
The Wild and Frantic Little Richard (1966) The Explosive Little Richard (1967) Little Richard's Greatest Hits: Recorded Live! (1967)

Professional ratings

Review scores
Source	Rating
Record Collector
Rolling Stone
AllMusic
i-News

The Explosive Little Richard is the first album by Little Richard under the Okeh label, produced by Little Richard's long-time friend Larry Williams and Johnny "Guitar" Watson and reflecting the then current sound of Soul and Motown. A mixture of cover versions and originals, it featured no tracks penned by Richard himself. Despite the new direction, it failed to chart. However , two tracks had some chart activity , “Poor Dog (Who Can’t Wag His Own Tail)” and “Commandments of Love”. The opening track , “(You’re My Girl ) I Don’t Want To Discuss it”, went on to become a minor classic, however, recorded by Delaney and Bonnie and Friends, Rhinoceros, and Eric Clapton.

Track listing

1. "I Don't Want to Discuss It" (Beth Beatty, Dick Cooper, Ernie Shelby) – 2:28
2. "Land of a Thousand Dances" (Fats Domino, Chris Kenner) – 2:10
3. "The Commandments of Love" (Larry Williams) – 2:27
4. "Money (That's What I Want)" (Janie Bradford, Berry Gordy, Jr.) – 2:02
5. "Poor Dog (Who Can't Wag His Own Tail)" (Johnny "Guitar" Watson, Larry Williams) – 3:06
6. "I Need Love" (Larry Williams) – 2:39
7. "Never Gonna Let You Go" (Dick Cooper, Ernie Shelby) – 2:41
8. "Don't Deceive Me (Please Don't Go)" (Chuck Willis) – 4:39
9. "Function at the Junction" (Brian Holland, Eddie Holland, Frederick Long, Lamont Dozier) – 2:35
10. "Well (aka Well All Right)" (Sam Cooke) – 2:56

UK CD reissue track listing

1. "Get Down With It" (Bobby Marchan) - 3:16 (same tune as “Do the Jerk “, composed by R. Penniman )
2. "Land of a Thousand Dances" (Fats Domino, Chris Kenner) – 2:10
3. "The Commandments of Love" (Larry Williams) – 2:27
4. "I Don't Want to Discuss It" (Beth Beatty, Dick Cooper, Ernie Shelby) – 2:28
5. "Money (That's What I Want)" (Janie Bradford, Berry Gordy, Jr.) – 2:02
6. "Poor Dog (Who Can't Wag His Own Tail)" (Johnny "Guitar" Watson, Larry Williams) – 3:06
7. "I Need Love" (Larry Williams) – 2:39
8. "Never Gonna Let You Go" (Dick Cooper, Ernie Shelby) – 2:41
9. "Don't Deceive Me (Please Don't Go)" (Chuck Willis) – 4:39
10. "Function at the Junction" (Brian Holland, Eddie Holland, Frederick Long, Lamont Dozier) – 2:35
11. "Well (aka Well All Right)" (Sam Cooke) – 2:56

Personnel

• Little Richard – vocals, piano
• Johnny "Guitar" Watson – guitar
• Arthur Wright - orchestral arrangements
• Jimi Hendrix - guitar - “Poor Dog” (according to Legacy liner notes)
• Larry Williams - vocalist - presumptively , on parts of “You’re My Girl “ and “Money”
• Eddie Fletcher - bass
• Glenn Willings - guitar
• Stu Phillips - production supervision

Other personnel unknown; no records kept by Okeh.

Critical reception

CD reissues have seen the album attract positive reviews. Record Collector gave the album four stars, and cited it as "quite possibly the best long player he ever made." In a review of the entire Okeh recordings, Rolling Stone stated that "Richard's hair-raising vocals on the Motown staple "Money" effectively claim the song as his own." i-News reviewed the album for a 2016 vinyl release, giving it four stars and stating that Richard "was still blessed with an immaculate voice and threw himself wholeheartedly some great contemporary sounding tracks."

Charts

Year	Single	Chart	Position
1966	"Poor Dog (Who Can't Wag His Own Tail)/Well"	Billboard Singles	121

Year	Single	Chart	Position
1966	”Commandments of Love”	Cash Box Black Singles	30

Cover versions

Richard's "I Don't Want To Discuss it" was not a hit for him but was duly noted later by Delaney and Bonnie and Friends, Rhinoceros, and Rod Stewart. The song "Well" is better known as "Well Alright!", a Sam Cooke composition Richard had in the Specialty vaults at the time he cut the Okeh version (reported to feature Jimi Hendrix).

Rhinoceros also covered “I Need Love”